Acorn Landscape Design

Acorn Landscape Design Landscape and Garden Design We specialise in turning your outdoor dreams into reality. Our design style is client and site led.

Landscape design Christchurch
0278172171
[email protected]
www.acornlandscapedesign.co.nz

Are you ready to design your dream garden, but don't know where to start? Whether you're looking for a complete overhaul of your backyard or just need a few tweaks to enhance your existing landscape, we have the expertise and creativity to bring your vision to life. Based in Christchurch, Can

terbury, we also produce high quality landscape designs for projects across the South Island. Our team of experienced designers will work closely with you to understand your unique needs and preferences, taking into account factors such as your home's architecture, existing vegetation, and desired level of maintenance. We'll then create a customised plan that not only meets your needs but also enhances the natural beauty of your property. We are a small team of Christchurch garden designers, however we work on a broad range of projects varying in scale from courtyards and roof gardens to large country estates. We use your taste and aspirations as our inspiration, resulting in garden designs with a fine balance of practicality and elegance. Some of our services include:

Site analysis and evaluation
Concept development with 3D modelling
Softscape design / plant selection / garden planning
Hardscape design (paving, decks, walkways, etc.) Structure design (embankment, retaining walls, pergolas, etc.) Garden lighting design
Garden irrigation design
Garden feature design
Garden maintenance schedules
Sustainable landscape design

Mums - this one’s for you.Book a Garden Design Package by Mother's Day to receive a complimentary $200 plant voucher.As ...
16/04/2026

Mums - this one’s for you.

Book a Garden Design Package by Mother's Day to receive a complimentary $200 plant voucher.

As a mum myself, I know how many things sit in the “I’ll get to it later” category, and gardens are almost always one of them. So this offer is a way to celebrate fellow mums, and help you finally get it sorted.

Head into spring with your garden sorted - a space that feels calm, easy, and ready to enjoy with your family.

That starts with a clear plan.

Autumn is my favourite time to step back, rethink what’s there, and design a space that actually works for your home and your family.

This session includes:
• A $200 plant voucher at a top performing nursery
• Up to 3 hours on site where we work through your layout, materials, planting, and all your design questions
• A simple, considered design plan
• A follow-up email with everything mapped out and clear next steps

So you can move forward with confidence, get the work done over winter,
and have it ready to enjoy when the sun comes back.

Limited sessions available before I head to France in mid-May.

Your garden needs a plan — not more work. And when it’s missing, it shows up everywhere.I just caught up with a lovely c...
27/03/2026

Your garden needs a plan — not more work. And when it’s missing, it shows up everywhere.

I just caught up with a lovely client.

She’d moved from a garden she’d spent decades on - it was her sanctuary.

Now she’s in a new place, with a smaller garden that was taking more from her, and no matter what she did, it just didn’t feel right.

She’d tried everything.

Taken things out.
Moved things around.
Bought plants she liked and hoped would work.

Some of it worked. Most of it didn’t.

And eventually it turned into “I just don’t want to guess anymore.”

That’s when she came to me.

Instead of adding and adjusting, we stepped back and planned it properly.

What was already there.
What was working, what wasn’t.
How she actually wanted to use the space.

Then we mapped it out clearly: layout, structure, planting.
So everything was working with the conditions, not against them.

That was about a year ago.

Now the garden has settled.
The plants are thriving.
It needs far less attention.

And even now, heading into autumn, when most gardens start to feel messy, hers is just quietly looking great.

More importantly, she’s enjoying it again.

That’s what my one-off design sessions are for.

We spend 2–3 hours on site, and you leave with a clear design plan and summary - so you know exactly what to do next.

I take on a limited number of sessions each month.
They’re $500.

Send me a message — I’ll let you know available times.

What to Plant in the Back of a GardenWhen you’re planning a garden bed, the back layer is where you create structure.It’...
27/03/2026

What to Plant in the Back of a Garden

When you’re planning a garden bed, the back layer is where you create structure.

It’s the tallest layer, the part that sits behind everything else - so it needs to look good when the rest of the garden ebbs and flows.

Start with space.

The depth you have will guide your choices. A narrower border calls for more upright, vertical plants. A deeper bed gives you room to layer more generously.

From there, it’s about choosing plants that do the heavy lifting.

Ornamental grasses are my go-to.
Varieties like miscanthus bring height without heaviness, movement in the wind, and they hold their shape beautifully through winter. They’re often the quiet backbone of a really good planting scheme.

Climbers (for vertical layering).
If you want to soften a fence or create that feeling of depth, climbers are incredibly useful.

Star jasmine, clematis, or climbing roses can sit behind or weave through your planting, adding another layer without taking up ground space.

Shrubs (for structure and mass).
Plants like viburnum, pittosporum, or hydrangeas anchor the space, create that sense of fullness and make everything feel more established.

Perennials (for seasonal impact)
Then you can layer in taller perennials like heleniums, delphiniums for those seasonal moments of colour and interest that sit within the structure you’ve already created.

A well-planted back layer does more than fill space.

It creates a backdrop that supports everything in front of it, looks considered, balanced, and gives back to you throughout the year.

It shouldn’t feel this hard.Something always needs cutting back…tidying up…fixing or replanting.And instead of feeling c...
20/03/2026

It shouldn’t feel this hard.

Something always needs cutting back…
tidying up…
fixing or replanting.

And instead of feeling calm or enjoyable, your garden feels like another job.

Most of the time, that’s not a maintenance issue, it’s a design issue.
The garden was never set up to feel easy in the first place.

My one-off, on-site design sessions are designed to fix that.

We simplify what’s not working, and I map out a clear, cohesive direction, including layout, planting approach, and key changes to make.

So instead of constantly managing it, you end up with a garden that actually works.
One that feels calm, considered, and beautiful to spend time in.

This works especially well if you:

– feel stuck and don’t know where to start
– don’t want to waste money getting it wrong
– want a garden that looks good and feels easy to live with

I’m heading to France in May, and I have a limited number of sessions available before I go.

If your garden is starting to feel like hard work, this is a really good place to reset it.

Send me a message and I’ll send through available times.

Have you looked at your garden lately and felt like it’s asking a lot from you?A few weeks ago everything was still look...
13/03/2026

Have you looked at your garden lately and felt like it’s asking a lot from you?

A few weeks ago everything was still looking full, flowers everywhere, lots happening, and the garden felt easy to enjoy.

But early autumn has a way of changing the picture.

Things start fading.
Some plants collapse.
Beds that looked lush not long ago begin to feel a bit messy or tired.

Suddenly the garden starts asking more from you, cutting back, tidying, editing.

I’ve been feeling some of that myself lately.

We have a decent-sized garden. Some parts were already here, and some I’ve designed more intentionally. The difference between them becomes really obvious at this time of year. It’s a pattern I see in a lot of gardens.

The designed parts of the garden are still quietly doing their thing and giving something back.

The older parts suddenly feel like they’re asking a lot, and every time I walk past them I think 'I really need to deal with that'.

Which is tricky when life is so busy.

It comes down to structure and balance.

The parts that are still giving something back tend to have some evergreen structure holding everything in place, and a high proportion of plants that keep performing across the seasons.

When a garden leans too heavily on short-lived “show” plants, everything seems to drop away at once, and that’s when the workload ramps up.

Of course how a garden looks and feels matters, but equally important, is how much it asks of you to keep it that way.

It’s something I think about a lot when I’m designing gardens - how to create spaces that support everyday life, rather than quietly adding to the mental load.

At this time of year, does your garden mostly give something back, or has it started asking a bit more from you too?

The middle layer of your garden is what ties everything together. Think of these plants as the bridge between the low, s...
27/01/2026

The middle layer of your garden is what ties everything together. Think of these plants as the bridge between the low, soft planting at the front and the taller structure behind.

1. Height

Plants in the middle should generally sit over 60cm, ideally around 70–90cm, so they rise above front-of-border planting without dominating the space. You can absolutely add a few taller plants for interest, just make sure they’re light, airy, or spiky so you can see through them. One of my favourites for this is Verbena bonariensis, which adds height without heaviness.

2. Repetition

Repetition is key to making a garden feel calm and intentional. Choose a plant you love and repeat it at least three times along the length of the garden bed. This creates rhythm and draws the eye naturally through the space.

Plants I Love for the Middle of Sunny Garden Beds:
Echinacea
Salvia
Achillea
Rudbeckia
Euphorbia
Perovskia
Verbascum
Helenium
Ornamental grass
Daphne
Roses
Pittosporum (great for winter structure)

Let me know what you'll be planting in yours in the comments!

I’ve been thinking a lot about why life feels easier on holiday.It’s not that responsibilities disappear, you’re still m...
06/01/2026

I’ve been thinking a lot about why life feels easier on holiday.

It’s not that responsibilities disappear, you’re still managing kids, meals, plans, and logistics.

But everything feels lighter.

I don’t think it’s about having more free time.
I think it’s about friction.

On holiday, the spaces around you give something back. They’re easy to move through, easy to use, and easy to enjoy without effort.

At home, most of us are living very full lives in spaces that were never designed for that reality.
They work on a quiet Saturday, not on a tired Tuesday.

I see this a lot with gardens.
They look fine, but they don’t really support everyday life.
They ask for maintenance, decisions, and energy - instead of quietly making things easier.

So this year I’ve made a small shift to the way I run my one-off design sessions, keeping them really simple and focused on reducing friction. One clear session, a practical, cohesive plan, and no obligation to do everything at once.

The goal isn’t a perfect garden, t’s a space that gives something back, even when life is busy.

If your garden has been on your mental to-do list for a while, feel free to message me for details about January–February design sessions.

When you’re choosing plants for the very front of your gardens, there are three key things to consider:1. HeightPlants a...
28/11/2025

When you’re choosing plants for the very front of your gardens, there are three key things to consider:
1. Height
Plants at the very front should sit around knee-high or lower - anything taller will block what’s behind it. As you move further into the garden, the height can gradually step up, creating a soft layered effect (with some exceptions).
2. Season of Interest
These plants need to work the hardest visually because they’re the first thing you see. Choose varieties that offer a long season of interest, whether through flowers, foliage, or structure, so your garden looks good for as much of the year as possible.
3. Shape
Avoid very upright, spiky plants in the front layer. Instead, look for plants that mound, spill, or weave. Fan-shaped or softly mounded plants help to blur the edges of paths and lawns, creating a relaxed, inviting feel.

Great Plants for the Front of a Garden:
Hardy geraniums (e.g., Rozanne)
Achillea
Low-growing euphorbias
Alchemilla mollis
Nepeta / Catmint
Ornamental grasses like Lomandra, and Carex
Sedum (Autumn Joy )
Coreopsis

Let me know which you'll be planting in yours in the comments!

A few tips to consider when you are thinking about an outdoor kitchen:1) How you want to cook? Barbeque? Pizza oven?2) W...
22/11/2025

A few tips to consider when you are thinking about an outdoor kitchen:
1) How you want to cook? Barbeque? Pizza oven?
2) Where should it be positioned? Never underestimate convenience, proximity to the kitchen is key (or you'll use it way less). Consider views too, if you can manage it, it's often nice to place it somewhere in the garden.
3) What you want it to look like? What will work with your house and garden? Think about materiality and remember to chose a wipeable surface.

This recent design has me excited for barbeque season in NZ, and is a real focal point in the garden.

Got questions?? Pop them in the comments.

If you do one thing to improve the look of your garden this year, let it be this! (Bonus - it’s completely free!)By lift...
20/11/2025

If you do one thing to improve the look of your garden this year, let it be this! (Bonus - it’s completely free!)

By lifting and dividing your perennials, then planting them in larger groups and repeating them through your garden, you’ll instantly create a more cohesive feel. You won’t find a professionally designed garden without planting repetition, and if you didn't do it in autumn, now is the perfect time to get stuck in. Just grab a spade and start dividing!

But there’s one more important step:
We don’t just repeat plants around the garden, we repeat clusters of the same plant. It’s unusual for garden designers to plant a single perennial on its own (unless it’s a big statement plant), we typically plant in threes, fives, or even sevens to create the same level of mass.

When you lift and divide a plant, consider replanting it as a cluster rather than scattering individual plants throughout the garden. Then repeat that same cluster elsewhere in the garden to create a sense of harmony and intention.

Perennials you can divide now include:
• Agapanthus
• Aster
• Delphinium
• Euphorbia (non-woody types)
• Geranium
• Hosta
• Ornamental grasses
• Salvia
• Sedum
• Verbena

So before you rush out to buy new plants, take a look around your own garden, you might already have everything you need.

There are lots more, if you’re unsure about a plant, pop it in the comments below and I’ll give you a thumbs up or down

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Christchurch

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 3pm
Tuesday 8am - 3pm
Thursday 8am - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm
Saturday 9am - 12pm

Telephone

+278172171

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